Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Jane, a loving mother of two, has drowned her toddler son and is charged with his murder in this powerful examination of love, loss, and family legacy. When a prosecutor decides Jane's husband Tom is partially to blame for the death and charges him with "failure to protect," Tom's attorney proposes a radical defense. He plans to create reasonable doubt about his client's alleged guilt by showing that Jane's genealogy is the cause of her violence, and that she inherited her latent violence in the same way she might inherit a talent for music or a predisposition to disease. He argues that no one could predict or prevent the tragedy, and that Tom cannot be held responsible.

With the help of a woman gifted with the power of retrocognition—the ability to see past events through objects once owned by the deceased—the defense theory of dark biology takes form. An unforgettable journey through the troubled minds and souls of eight of Jane's ancestors (named below), spanning decades and continents, this debut novel deftly illustrates the ways nature and nurture weave the fabric of one woman's life, and renders a portrait of one man left in its tragic wake.

And Andy - your comment made me laugh. No one has said "crime by lineage" before! :) Yes, it's fictional. It explores the nature and nurture of one woman to determine what makes her tick - and it also puts a spotlight on how the previous generations of her family coped. I hope you'll check it out! There's a free excerpt on my website: www.karenharringtonbooks.com

How cool is this? Promotion via a genealogy blog! I, for one, am fascinated by the idea of delving into one's genealogy to explain how the current generation behaves because I truly believe our ancestors are part of what makes us who we are today. After all, they pass on to us things like hair and eye color, body types, and even the genetic markers for numerous conditions (for instance, bipolar disorder, kidney and heart disease, and diabetes are just a few things passed down via my bloodlines, on either side of the family). Who's to say they couldn't also pass on coping skills or impulsive tendencies or the mental capacity to commit a horrible act? Something to think about...